Girls basketball preview: Time for talented senior to call Mission Hills home

Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune

Mission Hills senior Hailey McCoy (far right) has settled into her role as a leader on the Mission Hills girls basketball team.

Mission Hills senior Hailey McCoy (far right) has settled into her role as a leader on the Mission Hills girls basketball team. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Terry Monahan

Hailey McCoy, who transferred to Mission Hills High before her junior year, is in a different place this season.

The 5-foot-11 senior forward, who feels at home shooting by herself in any gym, is still playing for the four-time-defending San Diego Section champion.

But, unlike last season, McCoy is more relaxed about her situation. She’s fully acclimated to being a Grizzly.

That was not the case last year.

She was on the Mission Hills campus, but her spirit was back in El Dorado Hills (near Sacramento) with her friends and, more importantly, her teammates on the basketball team at Oak Ridge High.

“It took me all season to get over the move,” McCoy said. “Everything was different. I had a routine that revolved around basketball, and it was disrupted.

“My dad coached boys basketball teams, and I was always on a side hoop shooting by myself. I’d go to the Oak Ridge gym on Sundays to be by myself. I had a key.”

McCoy got into the Mission Hills gym on a Sunday and was promptly kicked out.

“I was lost here,” McCoy said. “I was against moving here. I had friends at Oak Ridge who offered to let me stay with them for the final two years of high school, but my parents wouldn’t let me stay.

“I was hoping Dad would change his mind (about the job-related move) or Mom would just say no.

“I was used to being a leader at Oak Ridge, but I was still getting used to this team all last year.”

Despite McCoy’s longing to be back at Oak Ridge, her contributions were significant to the Grizzlies’ success. They finished 30-3 and won the Avocado East League championship and a third straight Open Division title. She earned first-team all-section honors.

Last December, McCoy was chosen the most valuable player of the SoCal Holiday Classic after the Grizzlies edged La Jolla Country Day 65-61 in overtime in the final.

In attendance were her former teammates at Oak Ridge. Before returning home from the event, they came to cheer on McCoy and her new team.

With her tournament MVP award in hand, McCoy posed for photos afterward with most of the Oak Ridge players.

“Most of my former teammates were mad at Dad for moving the family,” McCoy said. “Everything happens for a reason, but those were my girls and they didn’t hate me. It was a great moment for me.”

McCoy’s statistics did not reflect her discomfort. She averaged 15.1 points, six rebounds and three assists last season.

“She fit in here because she was just like the girls we had last year — they were all pure gym rats,” Mission Hills coach Chris Kroesch said. “This will be a different role for her this year.

“She’s not a rah-rah person. She leads by example. She’s just out on the court to play basketball.

“Hailey is one of the top five players in the county.”

McCoy will play basketball next season even farther away from El Dorado Hills and Mission Hills. She has signed a letter of intent with the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.

She plans to major in sports marketing.

SEASON STORY LINES

Title streaks

Mission Hills collected a third consecutive San Diego Section Open Division championship last season and now has won four straight titles counting the Division I crown in 2014. As the Grizzlies try for a fifth straight championship this season, they’re entering territory not explored by many local teams. Only Bishop’s (1997-2002) and La Jolla Country Day (2003-08) have won six straight titles. Christian (1991-95) has captured five straight. Point Loma still tops the list with four straight section titles to go with four straight state crowns (1984-87).

Making a point

Bishop’s graduated quite a bit of offense last spring. The Knights, who averaged 79.9 points a game in reaching the Open Division finals, lost Destiny Littleton, the all-time leading scorer in section and state history who averaged 42.7 points. Bishop’s also lost Alessandra Aguirre, who averaged 15.3 points a game. The duo also averaged 15 rebounds a game. Littleton eventually chose Texas. Aguirre, the section’s top 3-point shooter all-time, is at Yale.

SoCal Holiday Classic

This year’s tournament, scheduled to run Dec. 27-30 at a number of gyms around the county, features Mission Hills, which has won the last two Premier Division titles, and last year’s runner-up, La Jolla Country Day. The two teams are in different pools, so they wouldn’t meet until the championship game of the largest tournament on the West Coast.

Section champions

Besides Mission Hills winning a fourth straight crown, two teams won their first section titles last year. Mater Dei Catholic won the Division I title while Maranatha Christian captured Division V, only the second section title in any sport in school history at the time. Rancho Bernardo won Division II to go with its Division III title in 2015. Lincoln’s Division III title was the first for the Hornets since 1994. Escondido Adventist won in Division IV.

On a roll

In eight seasons coaching at Mission Hills, Chris Kroesch has compiled a 178-69 record with just one losing season. During the Grizzlies’ four championship seasons, his record is 109-22, a winning percentage of .832.

Monahan is a freelance writer.

CAPTION

Hilltop wins 50-48.

Hilltop wins 50-48.

CAPTION

Hilltop wins 50-48.

Hilltop wins 50-48.

CAPTION

Granite Hills H.S. wins 8-7.

Granite Hills H.S. wins 8-7.

CAPTION

Saint Augustine wins 66-44.

Saint Augustine wins 66-44.

CAPTION

La Jolla wins 11-7. Followed by an interview with Ciara Franke from La Jolla

La Jolla wins 11-7. Followed by an interview with Ciara Franke from La Jolla

CAPTION

Anthony Sola is a Linebacker from Morse H.S. Ace Roach is a Quarterback from Rancho Buena Vista H.S.

Anthony Sola is a Linebacker from Morse H.S. Ace Roach is a Quarterback from Rancho Buena Vista H.S.